For the sake of ten I will not destroy it

For a little more than 4 years, I lived in Henderson, NV, a suburb of Las Vegas. I still have vivid memories of 2 unpleasant encounters. with Henderson police that suggested that their screening procedures for hiring emotionally mature, stable people as well as their training program, were both in need of adjustments.

Incident #1: A Henderson policeman zoomed up to me in his cruiser as I was j-walking. I fully deserved and expected a polite reprimand. Though already more than halfway across the wide street, one of Henderson’s “finest” instructed me to go back to the other side of the street and cross at the corner. When I gave him a “are you kidding look,” he said, “If you prefer, I just give you a ticket.” Appropriate? I think it not. Classic example of a bully who happens to have a badge.

Incident #2: I was returning home one evening on an interstate highway that passes through Henderson. As I approached my exit, I signaled to move into the right lane; I was going at or below the speed limit. Once in the right lane, I put on my directional to exit. Driving up the exit-ramp, a car that seemed to come out of no where started tail-gating me so close that I was sure our bumpers might have been touching. If I had hit my breaks, we would most definitely have collided. Stopping at the light at the end of the exit ramp, the car that had been tailgating me abruptly pulled alongside of me on the shoulder. Only then did I realize it was a Henderson police cruiser. The officer rolled down his window and I rolled down mine. I can’t think of another way to put it other than, he went (verbally) “postal” on me.

“Who the hell do you think you are? Do you think that by staying within the speed limit and using your directional that gives you the right to pull in front of police car? When you see a police car rolling down the highway, you get behind it, not in front of it. I’d run you in right now if I weren’t busy.”

To say I was stunned and perplexed would be an understatement. I hadn’t even noticed a police car in the right lane; there were no emergency lights to be seen or sirens heard. I was tempted to file a complaint against this nut-job cop, but friends warned me that taking official action against a cop might prove morally satisfying but would inevitably lead to worse hassles.

Today, in coming across this video of Henderson Police recently beating, kicking and verbally abusing a man who is actually going into diabetic shock, I was reminded of just how dangerous some cops can be. Note, the extreme verbal and physical attacks on this man who is guilty of nothing more than not reacting obediently to their instructions. How could he? He is going into diabetic shock! And no, while they couldn’t have known that, they should have figured out what was going on with him before deciding to treat him like a violent felon! The words we hear and behavior we witness in this video, are not those of emotionally mature people charged with protecting the public .

Giving the wrong people guns and badges can be just as dangerous to public safety as some criminals are.

My experience with Henderson PD … I was coaching a youth baseballl team and we had a game at the park right across the street from Midbar Kodesh actually. I arrive early with my family, as I usually do, and I see a guy sleeping on the field, right around 2nd base area. Being the coach, I feel it’s my duty to walk over to awaken him and ask him to leave, and so I do, and I’m feeling confident because a city park employee with a leaf blower is walking toward him as well from a different direction. As we arrive to where he is laying in a sleeping bag , the city worker and I realize immediately that he’s not sleeping. He’s dead! So I go into a panic mode, because within the next 30 min, the field is going to be the center of an outpouring of 5 and 6-year old kids and their parents and siblings. I know I have the ph#s to contact my team parents, but I don’t have contact info for the other team. So, still in a state of shock, I gather my wits enough to direct my wife and other team parents to take the few kids who were already there over to the playground. Then I call the little league rep, explain the urgent situation, and ask her to call the other team coach. I then call all my team parents and alert them not to bring the kids down to the field. I position myself over by the parking lot to divert arriving players and parents away from the field. It was the craziest 20 min of calling in my life. In the meantime, the city park employee had called 911 to get the police.
The police arrived and began to yellow tape the park. So I walk back down from the parking lot to see if they needed a statement from me or a brief report. As I near the backstop, still half dazed, one of Henderson’s “finest” says to me: “No softball for you today chief. You need to leave.” I know this seems trivial, but after all I had just done to prevent kids from running onto a field and seeing a dead body (with blood covering his head) – not to mention a bit traumatized myself, and the fact I didn’t leave the scene under the assumption that they may want a statement from me – to have this meathead pre-judge me and shoo me like I’m some gawker looking to play softball, I was so pissed, and my anger just continued to build after we left. Typical Norman Rockwell police encounter I guess.

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The Guy Behind the Tent of Abraham

Mitch Gilbert is a social worker, writer, and religious educator. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he has done community development work in Washington DC, Cleveland, Akron, Vancouver, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. Mitch earned a BA at Brooklyn College (CUNY), a Master of Science in Social Administration degree from Case Western Reserve University. In addition, Mitch has done graduate studies in Jewish tradition, history, and culture at New York University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Mitch is actively involved with in progressive causes and organizations that advance human rights, protect animals and save the environment. He currently resides in Columbus, Ohio.